Staff sergeant among three killed in Afghanistan shooting Friday; he had enlisted after high school

Marines carry the body of Staff Sgt. Scott Dickinson after its arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Monday. Dickinson had been in Afghanistan for four months and was deployed there for seven months in 2010.
Luis M. Alvarez AP

Marines carry the body of Staff Sgt. Scott Dickinson after its arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Monday. Dickinson had been in Afghanistan for four months and was deployed there for seven months in 2010.
Luis M. Alvarez AP

A staff sergeant from San Diego was one of three Marines who were fatally shot Friday night in the Garmser district of southern Afghanistan.

Scott Dickinson, 29, who attended Horizon Christian Academy in the Clairemont neighborhood, was killed by an Afghan while working on an installation shared by international coalition and Afghan forces.

Also slain were Cpl. Richard Rivera Jr. of Ventura and Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley of Oceanside, N.Y. All three Marines served with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

The shooting was the second of the day involving Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Earlier Friday, three Marine special forces operatives were killed in the Sangin district by a man wearing the uniform of an Afghan policeman. They were with Camp Pendleton’s 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion.

Dickinson’s mother, Pauline, said Tuesday that her son decided to join the Marine Corps immediately after he graduated from high school in 2001.

“We were shocked that he wanted to go into such a difficult military branch,” she said. “The brotherhood that’s there attracted him.”

Although Dickinson’s unit was based in Hawaii, he was previously stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he met his wife, Alicia. The couple married in 2009.

Pauline Dickinson said her son hoped to be assigned to an embassy after his current deployment so he could spend more time with his wife.

“It was something they could do together,” she said.

Dickinson was deployed to Afghanistan for about seven months in 2010, Pauline Dickinson said. He had spent four months in Afghanistan when he was killed.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press that the shooter was a member of the Afghan Uniformed Police. On Tuesday, military officials would only say the incident was under investigation.

So-called “green-on-blue” attacks by members or impersonators of Afghan security forces against their international counterparts have raised questions about U.S. efforts to train Afghan soldiers and police. This year, 37 international service members have been killed by Afghan security forces.

Although Dickinson was pursuing a long-term career in the Marine Corps, he also spoke about entering college after leaving the service.

“He thought he would like real estate or some sort of business career,” his mother said.

She remembered that he was involved in baseball and football at Horizon Christian Academy.

Kerry Keehl, baseball coach at the academy during Dickinson’s time there, remembered him as a dedicated team manager and a respectful but happy-go-lucky student.

“Anything that you wanted, Scott would do for you,” Keehl said, adding that the whole team enjoyed spending time with Dickinson on and off the field.

“He’s the type of guy, you would want him to be your brother,” Keehl said.

Jesse Fournier, who also graduated from Horizon Christian Academy, said Dickinson embraced him as a friend when he was still new to the school.

“I definitely remember him as the nicest guy,” Fournier said. “(He was) always happy and really had no worries in a sense. Things didn’t really get to him.”

At home, Dickinson was remembered as a respectful and friendly member of the community.

Keehl said his entire family knew Dickinson. His son remembered one particular evening when he and Dickinson made Gatorade together for Horizon Christian Academy’s baseball team.

Dickinson’s mother recounted his great generosity, one of the last examples coming in the form of Dickinson’s death gratuity, a portion of which he arranged to go to each of his six younger nieces and nephews.